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That inquiry resulted in him discovering the top five councils whose contributions had risen the fastest.

Top of the list was Christchurch City Council, whose contributions were up from $24 million to $33.2 million, followed by the Waikato District Council, up from $6.4 million to $14.4 million, and Auckland Council, up from $102 million to $107 million.

"The data from annual reports is from the Library and the calculations are done by our Labour research staff. It appears so far one case has been taken under the new legal framework for reviewing development contributions and the council won it," Twyford said.

Smith last month claimed victory from Government reforms when rising building consent data was issued.

"The Government is keeping its foot on the accelerator to ensure this positive momentum continues.

"The Government is continuing to free up more land faster through the Auckland Housing Accord, together with the council," he said.

The Government had put in place initiatives to constrain building materials costs, rein in development contributions, cut compliance costs and invest in improved sector productivity, Smith said after Statistics NZ data showed 27,745 residential consents were issued in the year to February, up from 24,766 the previous year.

Top five increases

• Christchurch City Council up from $24m to $33.2m• Waikato District Council up from $6.4m to $14.4m• Auckland Council up from $102m to $107m• Tauranga City Council up from $14.7m to $19.1m • Queenstown Lakes District Council up from $5.5m to $7.9m